


Whisper of a Silent Tyrant

by Whisperlyn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fire Lord Zuko, Propaganda, What-If, Zuko isn't actually evil, Zuko won the Agni Kai, but war is war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24011002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whisperlyn/pseuds/Whisperlyn
Summary: Though none of the gaang has seen him before, he is an intimidating and striking figure. As they travel through the earth kingdom in search of another teacher for Aang, they shudder at the stories they hear—each worse than the last. Tales of how he challenged his own father and stole the throne from beneath him at only 13 years of age has travelled far and wide and is a pervasive tale about the cut-throat nature of the Fire Nation. How a young prince and a father dueled and only one of them lived to see the sun again. They hear the whispers and the tales of their enemy, Fire Lord Zuko.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 395





	Whisper of a Silent Tyrant

Fire Lord Zuko, though none of the gaang has seen him before, is an intimidating and striking figure. As they travel through the earth kingdom in search of another teacher for Aang, they shudder at the stories they hear—each worse than the last. Tales of how he challenged his own father and stole the throne from beneath him at only 13 years of age has travelled far and wide and is a pervasive tale about the cut-throat nature of the Fire Nation. How a young prince and a father dueled and only one of them lived to see the sun again. 

Patricide. 

Of course, that is not what it’s seen as in the Fire Nation, they strive to clarify. An “agnee kai”, they whisper, “perfectly legitimate”. 

“Ruthless and typical”, they whisper back. 

The people, the common folk who have no desire or lust for war say their greetings, tuck their head back down, and continue on their way. Along their routine they spread the tale of the new Fire Lord Zuko, each retelling more brutal than the last. 

“A master manipulator, he decimated several of his own nobles and generals”, a young woman, her flowing robes fluttered in the wind, said as she took her basket of fish from the market. 

“Playing the long game, he’s sweeping all who would oppose him out, he is”, a fisherman barks, “Give it time. Soon, those wretched blazing men will be back on their war path—once they’ve finished settling in under new reign and terror, His Highness”. 

“A heartless thing, set his own father ablaze, I heard. Burned him in and out until he was unrecognizable!” A barkeep hunkers down to fetch another bottle, the last one swiftly running dry as rounds and rounds of Earth Kingdom soldiers filter in. “Ashes to Ashes!” Shouts another. 

“The Fire Lord, Bringer of Ashes, Kin Executioner, has ordered another of his _own_ ships to be persecuted. They shot it down right in front of me and my crew. Of course, once we pushed our advantage—we tried to sink them while they were otherwise occupied—they nearly took ours out too. Decided to retreat but we’ll get them.” A chief, a captain now, levelled a look at the man. “I expect so, with the… cannibalization of their own troops”. 

“Yeah, I heard that he _ate_ his own father”. A young boy loftily bragged to the young girl as he unloaded supplies for her family’s small shop. 

“Shut up! How would you know anything, Hu?” She crossed her arms in dismay as he flails back around. “Yes, I do! I—” he puffs out his chest, “discussed strategies and such with the soldiers and fishermen at the dock”. They girl lifts a single eyebrow, “you mean you listened in on them at the Xiao Lin’s Tavern”. 

“I’m telling you! The Dragon of the West is approaching and we—” 

“I cannot risk more men,” the captain cuts him off. “Not when they aren’t actively trying to approach or attack right now”. 

“My intel is good! You know this, if the Dragon of the West is on that warship, we should try to strike him down now!” The captain remains steadfast, his eyes never blinking, and says nothing. 

“So, what” the man stops yelling, the armor dinged from battles past, “we stop fighting, simply because they are benevolent enough to _not_ kill us in this instant? Wait for them to regain their footing, again. Our lost people, lost land, lost lives, simply forfeited?” 

“No,” the captain reassures, “we will strike back. They’ll regret giving us this chance—because it is a chance. It’s already been over a year and the attacks have scaled back. While they deal with civil war and riots in their own homeland, we wait, we become stronger, then when that child-king is crippled, weak and unexpecting, we strike the hardest and **take** everything back.” He smiles and it isn’t reassuring.

Two years later, an ice berg cracks.


End file.
